State of the city: The deterioration of Houston's health care system requires an all-out effort that mimics Katrina relief

STATE OF THE CITY

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Published 6:30 am, Sunday, January 29, 2006

Evoking the spirit of Houston's effort to aid Hurricane Katrina evacuees, Mayor Bill White declared that the city's problems can be solved when city, county and state officials, the business community, nonprofits and individuals all work toward a common purpose. Few who witnessed the speed with which hurricane evacuees received food, shelter and medical care would argue the point.

In his State of the City speech at a Greater Houston Partnership luncheon, White asked Houstonians and their employers to avoid rush-hour traffic by adopting flexible work hours. He called on the city to make itself a model for energy conservation as well as energy production.

A greater challenge will be reducing the city's dropout rate. All the marketing of Houston's business opportunities will come to little, White said, if we fail to educate. With public school financing inadequate and in disarray, businesses and educated residents must adopt schools and mentor students at risk of dropping out.

No crowd at a Houston business luncheon would sit still for a comprehensive listing of Houston's shortcomings. A serious problem the mayor did not dwell upon is the deterioration of Houston's health care delivery system.

Robert T. Gumby Jr., the physician who heads the Texas Medical Association, told the Chronicle editorial board Friday that the health care system throughout the state is in poor shape. Insurance costs rise precipitously, yet the money going to actual care drops. He blamed exorbitant insurance company profits and executive pay.

Part of the blame for poor health rests with Houstonians. We tend to be fat, immobile, diabetic and addicted to harmful substances, principally tobacco. Improvement on that front requires individual commitment to healthier diets and exercise.

But the crux of the problem is Houston's high rate of uninsured residents — 31 percent, the nation's highest. Dr. Gumby charitably concluded that legislators and their leaders in Austin must be unaware of the great suffering this condition exacts from the working poor. Knowledgeable people in authority would not allow it to continue.

Given the glacial pace of political change, Houstonians must react to the public health crisis with the vigor and charity they showed after Hurricane Katrina. As the mayor noted, we're all in this together.